DSLR decision made…
- This topic has 4 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated Jul 20, 2009 at 5:55 pm by
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And the winner is……..the Canon T1i.
I’ve been in hardcore research mode all week, waffling between the Canon T1i, Nikon D5000, and most recently the Pentax K20D. All had some serious advantages, and I was giving myself an ulcer deciding between them.
The Nikon had some of the best reviews, and I was particularly interested in the apparent high-iso performance that was better than Canon’s in a number of tests. Also, I kind of liked the vibe of the Nikon shooters a bit more (other than the fact that the Nikonians site requires you to pay them to even view forums…). The body of the Nikon felt a bit better in my hand, but I didn’t care for the tilt-a-whirl screen.
The Canon didn’t feel as nice in my hand, but the control layout worked a bit better for me (adjuster wheel under my finger instead of my thumb in particular). The Canon’s screen was fantastic, and I didn’t think the settings were any more difficult to get to than the Nikon’s.
The Pentax was a dark horse. My family has some old Pentax lenses rolling around and it would be nice to put those to use. Also a weatherproof camera sounded nice for fishing. Plus a bunch of places were closing them out now that the K7 was coming, and they could be had about $200 cheaper than the Nikon or Canon.
So why the Canon? A really hard look at what I want to do with a camera. I will want to take family snaps. All of them will work for that. Fishing shots, obviously – the Nikon may have a bit of an edge. But I also really enjoy the macro shooting I’ve done, and there’s one type of photography I did with film that I really, really, really want to get back to – Airshows. I am a total aviation junkie, particularly WWII planes. I can’t tell you how many rolls of film I burned up with my wife’s old Minolta Maxxum shooting P-51 Mustangs at Florida airshows.
What it came down to was glass. With the D5000, you have to use the AF-S lenses for autofocus, which severely limits choices. Particularly for a zoom that reaches out to 400mm. The Nikon zoom telephoto in AF-S goes for about $6,000, while the really nice Canon 100 – 400 L-series can be had for around $1,500. In macro lenses (which I know, autofocus isn’t necessarily the way to go, but still), Nikon pretty limited selection in AF-S lenses, while all of the Canon lenses will work with the T1i. Also, with my father-in-law being a Canon shooter, the option exists to borrow some of his L-series glass if I’m really, really nice. The Pentax was just too odd and too hard to get accessories for.
My thought is that I’d get the Canon kit, then probably replace the kit lens with my pa-in-law’s 17-85 that he’s trying to sell me (maybe Christmas? hehe). Add the 100 – 400 for airshows, one of the macro lenses (don’t know which yet) and a fast 50 for portrait-y stuff and I should be close to set.
So I now have a Canon. Got it this afternoon and started shooting. I took Filson the SuperModel out to the backyard for some candids:
I’m happy at present. I can see that it will take me a long time to get good at this. However, I’m currently nursing a shoulder injury and have at least a month to get started uninterrupted.
Abe
Nice .. Looking forward to seeing your photos! Sounds like you thought out your purchase well. I’d second the “nifty 50”.
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